Timeline: 1864
This Timeline documents all the information discovered for bushranger Frederick Ward and Mary Ann Bugg for the year 1864, with associated source-references. Copies of the birth and death certificates mentioned below are accessible via the webpage for Mary Ann Bugg and her offspring. Many of the referenced newspapers are now accessible online (see Online Newspapers).
Copyright Carol Baxter 2011
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3 Jan 1864: Senior-Constable Sullivan of Dungog police apprehended a man believed (incorrectly) to be Captain Thunderbolt; drover George Vitnell was remanded to West Maitland and only released when toll-bar keeper William Delaney testified that he wasn’t Thunderbolt; the Police Gazette reported on 13 Jan that the real offender was supposed to have gone towards the New England district[1]
Early Jan 1864: Held up two boys (the sons of Dr Henry Glennie of Singleton) on Glendonbrook Road near Glendon Brook; 3 Jan: demanded breakfast at Mr Brooker’s at Mirannie Creek, north of Glendon Brook; circa 10 Jan: stayed at Stephen Smith’s house on the Chichester River, 14 miles north of Dungog; pre-15 Jan: travelled to Dungog and collected Mary Ann and the children then headed north again; 15 Jan: robbed Smith’s house of food, weapons and saddles; 22 Jan: his horses found in the mountains between the Chichester and Little (Wangat) Rivers, one dead, one dying, both apparently stolen from St Clair (north of Singleton), with a woman’s jacket, indicating that this was the family’s first attempt to leave the district; 23 Jan: police in pursuit again; circa 25 Jan: Moore’s place robbed of rations (location unknown); late Jan/early Feb: made their way back almost to Dungog then headed north again towards Gloucester; 8 Feb: seen at Rawdon Vale station with Mary Ann and two children, apparently making his way to the Upper Hunter or Hanging Rock; 9 Feb: police arrive at Rawdon Vale the same day as the rains began, the Great Flood of 1864 which left much of north-eastern and later north-western NSW flooded, and try to continue pursuit but are foiled by the inclement weather[2] early Mar 1864: Report that Thunderbolt was residing in the mountain ranges near Paterson NB. This is unlikely as he was last seen at Rawdon Vale crossing the mountains towards Moonan Flat or Nundle on 8 Feb and was in the Bourke district by late May 1864 )[3] May 1864: Report in Police Gazette that Fred and Mary Ann and children travelled with a Mr McKay to that gentleman’s station on the Moonie River, and thence to the Culgoa (the gentleman was probably G.E. McKay/Mackay who had stations in the Warrego district, later Narran County); report in Police Gazette (Jan 1865), probably from information provided by Mary Ann to Sergeant Cleary, that from around May 1864 they had lived in the camp near the Culgoa River about 25 miles from the Queensland border and 7 miles from Thomas Moffitt’s station (Moffitt’s Bunna Bunna run was between the Culgoa and Birrie Rivers, near Brenda, west of Goodooga); Police Gazette also reported (May 1865) that 'around the time of the floods last year' (Feb-Apr 1864), Ward went up to the interior where he was seen looking miserable and hard up, that he found his way out to Barcoo Creek, a very remote point, where he was supposedly engaged in horse-stealing from neighbouring stations[4] NB. Mary Ann’s statement to Sergeant Cleary indicated that they had camped on the Culgoa (near Brenda) from May 1864, although it is possible that Thunderbolt went further afield to steal horses Mid-1864: Mary Ann appears to have given birth to a child that died. NB. Mary Ann’s son’s birth certificate in 1876 reports that she had previously given birth to two children who had died. Her death certificate lists 13 surviving children, most of whom have been identified and their approximate years of birth determined. As these were all single births, it is likely that the two deceased children were also the product of single births. Gaps in Mary Ann’s childbearing suggest that these infants were probably born in 1864 and 1872. Mary Ann was a highly fertile woman so it seems unlikely that she would be with Fred Ward for nearly a year after his escape from Cockatoo Island before she fell pregnant, particularly as she fell pregnant with their eldest daughter almost immediately after meeting him. Fred was evidently concerned about her later 1865 confinement, enough to employ a woman to attend to her and remain with her afterwards, which suggests that there might have been a particular reason for his concern – such as an infant mortality.[5] (For further information, see Searching for Mary Ann Bugg's children) Sep 1864: Mary Ann falls pregnant around this time as she is listed with a 9 month infant in March 1866[6] Dec 1864: Report in Police Gazette that Fred left the Culgoa district mid-Dec supposedly to steal horses from Mr Reynold’s station on the Paterson; he was expected to return to Mary Ann at the Culgoa, having left a favourite racing mare at the camp[7] Sources [1] NSW Police Gazette 1864 No.2 (13 Jan 1864) p.14; Newcastle Chronicle 9 Jan 1864 p.3; Maitland Mercury 7 Jan 1864 p.2, 9 Jan p.2 [2] NSW Police Gazette 1864 No.4 (27 Jan 1864) p.24; Maitland Mercury 21 Jan 1864 p.2 23 Jan p.3, 26 Jan p.2, 30 Jan p.3, 23 Feb p.2; Sydney Morning Herald Feb-Apr 1864 for flood reports [3] Maitland Mercury 5 Mar 1864 p.3 [4] NSW Police Gazette 1864 No.20 (18 May 1864) p.151, 1865 No.4 (25 Jan 1865 p.32); Empire 31 Jan 1865 p.3; Maitland Mercury 13 May 1865 p.3. Re McKay’s station: Bailliere’s NSW Gazetteer, p.61; Hanson’s Pastoral Possessions p.500. Re Moffitt’s station: Bailliere’s NSW Gazetteer p.100; Hanson Pastoral Possessions p.412; NSW Government Gazette 1865 p.2624; Hall’s Directory 1895, p.152 [5] Death Certificate: Mary Ann Burrows [RBDM ref: 1905/5831]; Birth Certificate: George Herbert Burrows [RBDM 1876/0015712] [6] NSW Police Gazette 1866 No.14 (4 Apr 1866) p.122; Maitland Mercury 29 Mar 1866 p.2, 3 Apr 1866 p.2, 12 Jan 1867 p.8 [7] NSW Police Gazette 1865 p.32 |